by Lufthansa Flyer | Dec 7, 2011 | Uncategorized |
Reported by Reuters tonight, Star Alliance member US Airways is forecasting additional airline industry consolidation, however did not go as far as committing to a position on the potential for acquiring its larger rival, American Airlines. Curious which way the Frequent Flyer Programs would go. Does US go to One World and out from under the shadow of United? Or does American come to the Star Alliance? My money is on US Air going to OneWorld. What’s your bet??
Here’s the excerpt from the Reuters Story Dated 7 December 2011:
US Airways sees room for more airline consolidation as a means to trim capacity and gain pricing power after a protracted downturn, the carrier’s chief financial officer said on Tuesday.
“A key thing in this industry has been consolidation,” Derek Kerr said on a webcast of a Rodman & Renshaw airline conference. “We’ve been a proponent of consolidation since 2005.”
Many airline analysts expect US Airways, formed from a 2005 merger with America West Airlines, to make a bid for its larger bankrupt rival American Airlines. AMR, parent of American Airlines, filed for Chapter 11 last week.
US Airways has not said whether it intends to attempt a merger with AMR, but Kerr said the carrier still promotes consolidation.
“This has been the first step. We’ve talked about this all along,” Kerr said. “Four major mergers since 2005 and possibly room for more as we move forward to make the industry a little bit healthier.”
Kerr also said US Airways’ outlook for unit revenue — revenue per available seat mile — is “staying pretty strong” and that corporate travel bookings are robust.
Earlier on Tuesday, Southwest Airlines chief financial officer Laura Wright told the conference the discount carrier expects “another high-single-digit” rise in unit revenue for December, similar to a rise of 9 percent seen for November.
by Lufthansa Flyer | Dec 6, 2011 | Uncategorized |
Lufthansa recently was awarded the Fast Travel Award from the IATA (International Air Transport Association). The award is given to the airline that takes the greatest steps to reduce ineffiences as far as the passenger experience at an airport is concern. The Award was presented to Lufthansa Group Chairman and CEO Christoph Franz at the annual IATA Board of Directors Meeting in Montreal.
To earn the award, Lufthansa had to meet requirements in 6 disciplines to earn the award: Automated Check-Options, Self Service Baggage Drop-Off, Self Boarding, Automated Document Check, Independent Flight Re-Booking and Lost Baggage Registration.
It is also the first airline in the history of the award to meet the requirements of the award for two separate airports. Frankfurt and Munich, the two major Lufthansa hubs have both reached these operating efficiences.
Highlights of the improved passenger experience:
1. 3 Self Check-In Options: Online, Self Serve Kiosk or Smart Phone. 60 percent of all Lufthansa travelers use one of these 3 methods.
2. Self Service Baggage Drop Off: Passengers can print their own baggage tag at a Luggage Drop-Off Kiosk and automatically send their luggage into the airport’s baggage management system.
3. Self Boarding: At gates in Frankfurt and Munich Passengers simply scan their boarding pass at a scanner, and if the Boarding Pass meets the flight criteria, a gate opens allowing the passenger to pass through. No longer is a gate agent needed thus eliminating a bottleneck. In addition there are more than one of these scanners at most gates, allowing for faster passenger flow.
In my experience transiting Frankfurt and Munich, it is obvious just how effective these systems are. Its because of effiencies like this that have earned Munich many awards including Europe’s Best Airport. Munich is so efficient that it only takes 30 minutes for an arriving passenger from an International Origin to make their connecting flights. I can personally attest to the fact that it is very easy to do this!!
Congrats Lufthansa for making the passenger experience better!
by Lufthansa Flyer | Dec 5, 2011 | Uncategorized |
Next in my series of trip reports based on my recent Mileage Run to Hong Kong is going to be fairly straight forward as a pictorial. You can see part one here.
I took time to set up my camera and tripod on the Kowloon side of the area so that I can have a front row seat to the sunset over Hong Kong Island. The weather was perfect for a great sunset, even the smog cooperated and stayed away. Being the Holiday season, several of the buildings were adorned with Christmas light displays that were extremely impressive. I was surprised quite honestly by the obvious signs of Christmas throughout the city, but then I remember that the British held the territory for so many years, and with that came British traditions which seemed to have remained in tact even with the transfer of the territory back to China several years ago.
I’ll have more Hong Kong specific items in my next trip report, but for now I wanted to share several of the pictures that I was fortunate to capture. Keep in mind that these pictures are untouched other than minor cropping and putting a watermark on them.
The equipment that I used was my Nikon D7000 along with a Nikon 35mm 1.8, 50mm 1.8 and a Tokina 11-16mm 2.8 Ultra Wide Angle lens. The 35mm 1.8 is one of the best lenses you can every own if you are a Nikon loyalist and considering that it costs less than $200, its nearly a must have for most people who enjoy photography. Another must have for night photography is a GOOD and STABLE TRIPOD since most pictures require the camera to stay open longer in low light to capture good images. You also need a way to “snap” the picture without touching the camera, and thats done with a wireless remote. This way the camera isn’t disturbed when taking pictures.
As you see the pictures, some will be very similar to each other. There are minor differences among all of them because of the time lapse of the pictures and also due to my tinkering with exposure settings etc. I hope you enjoy these as much as I enjoyed taking them…….
Early Evening
Sunset Continues
Building Lights Start To Warm Up
Brighter As It Gets Darker
Last Of The Sun Reflecting On The Buildings
A Wider View
Lights Start To Dance On The Bay
Final Moments of Sunlight
Beautiful Final Moments of Light
Absolutely Beautiful Skyline
Now Things Really Start Picking Up
Gorgeous......
Showtime! By The Way, The Grand Hyatt Is Nestled Between the Philips and Hyundai Lighted Billboards
Darker by the Moment......
Notice the Christmas Lighting as Large as The Buildings Themselves......
Worth The Effort To Go See This
Just Keeps Getting Better
Similar to the Above Photo, Just a Few Minor Camera Setting Changes
The City is A Work of Art
Sunset Complete, What A Great Show......
The Streaks On The Bay Is Boat Traffic. I Kept My Lens Open For a Few Seconds on Some Shots.
The City Just Doesn't Have a Bad Pose!
See What I Mean?
I Wound Up With Over 300 Pictures Just From The Sunset......
I Couldn't Stop Taking Pictures!
A Shot Of The Entire Skyline....
If you ever have the opportunity to visit Hong Kong, do so, you will be glad you did. I was born and raised in New York City, so I know what a great Skyline is. But in my humble opinion, Hong Kong takes the prize for best Skyline when comparing the two. The Bright Colors, The Ads, The Architecture all add to this Skyline Masterpiece.
